Chapter 193 Unscrupulous
On Monday morning, as scheduled, Yang Chen arrived at Zhonghai Airport with a small suitcase for the second time in a short period. And once again, the companion was Mo Qian Ni. However, the relationship between the two had undergone a complete transformation since their first encounter.
Mo Qian Ni wore sunglasses that covered half of her fair and pretty face, dragging a large suitcase behind her. Her slightly tight white sportswear made her look lively and energetic. Chewing gum, wearing earphones to listen to music, and checking her watch, she had been waiting early.
Seeing Yang Chen leisurely approaching, Mo Qian Ni playfully lowered her sunglasses, giving him a disdainful look. "Why do I always have to wait for you every time? Can't you be a gentleman and arrive early?"
"It's only been two times. What do you mean by 'every time'?" Yang Chen shamelessly reached into Mo Qian Ni's shirt pocket directly, trying to find a piece of gum to chew on.
With so many passengers around, Mo Qian Ni naturally felt embarrassed and urgently slapped Yang Chen's arm to stop him. "What are you doing? There's no gum left!"
Finding nothing, Yang Chen didn't hurry to retract his hand. Instead, he pinched Mo Qian Ni's soft and delicate waist through the fabric a few times, satisfying his playful urge before finally pulling back.
Mo Qian Ni's face turned red with anger. She forcefully twisted Yang Chen's waist in retaliation, muttering indignantly, "You always bully someone like me, the mistress. If you have the guts, go take advantage of your wife!"
Suddenly, Yang Chen remembered a saying: "Mistresses have no rights," but he definitely wouldn't dare say it in front of Mo Qian Ni.
The two of them boarded the plane joking around, and it would take about four hours to reach Sichuan Province.
Seeing the sweet smiles of the flight attendants, Yang Chen couldn't help but think of An Xin, that "heartless" little girl. He had mentioned catching her again last time, and she would have to accept her fate. Yang Chen thought whether he should check which flight she was on precisely to avoid too many restless nights.
After passing three hours on the plane, they entered the territory of Sichuan Province and gradually descended. Breaking through the thick clouds, they could already see the picturesque scenery of Shu below through the cabin window.
Leaning against the window, Mo Qian Ni stared unblinkingly at the continuous mountains on the land, lost in thought.
"Haven't been back in over a decade, right?" Yang Chen, seeing her sentimentality, feared she might get too emotional and diverted Mo Qian Ni's attention.
With red eyes, Mo Qian Ni nodded. "Yes, I still remember how hard it was back then, from these mountain valleys, struggling all the way to Zhonghai. I never thought that now, I could come back by plane. It's like entering another world."
3.5
"Did you bring any gifts for your mom?" Yang Chen asked.
"I'm not telling you," Mo Qian Ni's eyes lit up with joy and anticipation when she mentioned her mother. It was evident that she couldn't wait to see her only relative.
Another half hour passed, and the plane landed at the provincial capital airport.
Mo Qian Ni's hometown, according to her, was located deep within the Qilian Mountains, in a small mountain village called Kunshan Village. Because the road was too remote, they had to take a train to the outskirts of the mountains first, then take a bus along the mountainous road to the interior, and finally walk for over ten miles to reach the village.
Hearing about this series of transportation processes, Yang Chen's scalp tingled, and he couldn't help but ask Mo Qian Ni, "Doesn't your hometown even have electricity?"
Mo Qian Ni glared at him. "How could my mom call me if there's no electricity? It's just inconvenient transportation-wise. We do have electricity, you know. Our village isn't that small. With both the north and south parts combined, there are hundreds of households!"
Yang Chen breathed a sigh of relief. Candlelit dinners occasionally were romantic, but too much of it would be nauseating. After taking a taxi to the train station, they found that the train to the town below the Qilian Mountains was still an old-style train. It was slow, noisy, and wouldn't depart until after two in the afternoon.
After buying tickets, the two of them had a casual lunch at a snack bar outside the station before boarding the train.
The train carriage wasn't crowded. After the train started moving, there were only a dozen or so dusty villagers in the dozens of seats. Most of them were mountain folks who came out to sell some local specialties.
As soon as Mo Qian Ni sat down on the hard seat of the train, she began to feel drowsy, resting her head on the table in front of her. Despite the noisy rumble of the train, she quickly fell asleep.
Because the train had to travel for two hours with three stops in between, soon after reaching the first stop, a group of people boarded.
These were men carrying shoulder poles and wrapped in coarse cloth. Some of them even had cigarettes dangling from their mouths, and the pungent smell immediately filled the carriage, making it unbearable.
Since there was hardly any railway control here, and the equipment was outdated, no one would restrain the rough behavior of these mountain men. With their muddy shoes stepping onto the train, leaving dirt everywhere, everyone seemed accustomed to it.
Mo Qian Ni, awakened by the unpleasant smell and noisy chatter, groggily opened her eyes to find many more people around, some smoking without any regard, which made her furrow her brow.
Having been away from this land for so long, Mo Qian Ni felt very uncomfortable suddenly facing this unchanged group of people.
At this moment, the group of men were also all staring at Yang Chen and Mo Qian Ni, especially a few lecherous ones who kept staring at Mo Qian Ni without looking away.
Women in the mountains were mostly rough and tough due to years of hard work, with dark complexions and prominent cheekbones. It was rare to see a woman like Mo Qian Ni, dressed in fashion with fair and delicate skin. Now, feeling uncomfortable, with a slight frown on her delicate face, she attracted the attention of men, just like Lin Daiyu lying on her sickbed due to a cold, arousing the instincts of men.
Finally, one impatient man with a dark face left his seat and approached, sitting directly next to Yang Chen. He glanced at Mo Qian Ni's slightly nervous pretty face while grinning at Yang Chen, revealing a mouthful of yellowish teeth. "Brother, where are you guys from?"
Yang Chen was looking at the slowly retreating scenery outside the window, not paying much attention to the changes inside the train. Hearing the Sichuanese accent of the man, he smiled and replied, "We're from Zhonghai."
"Zhonghai?" The man seemed to have seen something peculiar, sizing up Yang Chen, "No wonder, your clothes and appearance are different from ours here in the countryside. The news on TV always shows those tall buildings in Zhonghai. Hey, living in such tall buildings, aren't you afraid they'll collapse?"
Facing such a nonsensical question, Yang Chen didn't know how to respond. "I don't know, never thought about it."
The other mountain men who boarded the train together laughed and mocked, "Black Loach, stop spouting nonsense. If you have to fart, just let it out!"
Black Loach glared at them before turning to Yang Chen again, asking, "Brother, are you going to the mountains? What are you going to do there?"
"Going to see someone important," Yang Chen replied vaguely.
Seeing Yang Chen chatting with the man called Black Loach, Mo Qian Ni couldn't help but turn her head away and look out the window, pretending she didn't know anything.
Black Loach chuckled, "Brother, your wife is really delicate. Even after hundreds of years in the mountains, we couldn't produce someone like her. Those women here are all rougher than us men. Some even have leg hair as thick as hair!"
Yang Chen couldn't help but smile knowingly. He noticed that Mo Qian Ni's shoulders were trembling slightly, likely because women from the mountains, including her and her mother, were being discussed, making her feel very uncomfortable.
Black Loach suddenly leaned close to Yang Chen's ear and whispered in a low voice, "Brother, we all want to have some fun. Can your wife help us out and let us enjoy ourselves in the carriage?"
Although he intentionally lowered his voice, it still sounded rough, and Mo Qian Ni, sitting opposite, vaguely heard it.
Mo Qian Ni, who had long been disgusted with these people, couldn't help but slam the table suddenly, her face flushed with anger as she scolded, "Rogue! Get out of here!"
Mo Qian Ni's outburst unwittingly played into the hands of these scheming mountain men!
The five or six rough-clad men with shoulder poles who were originally sitting nearby all stood up and approached with sinister smiles.
Black Loach also stood up, looking displeased as he loudly retorted, "Little girl, who are you calling a rogue? What did we say or do to you?! Do you think us mountain folks are easy to bully?"
Other passengers in the carriage also noticed the situation here. Some sympathized with Mo Qian Ni, understanding the situation, while others were gleefully anticipating a show. It seemed that this kind of thing wasn't a rare occurrence.
Mo Qian Ni realized that she had fallen into a trap. With at least six men surrounding their seats, she couldn't casually say what Black Loach had said, and even if she did, it wouldn't help. These people were deliberately causing trouble for her, trying to take advantage of her!
Yang Chen stood up, holding Mo Qian Ni's hand and giving it a reassuring squeeze.
Mo Qian Ni remembered that Yang Chen was beside her. Feeling relieved, she knew Yang Chen had a terrifying side, and these people were no match for him. But the discomfort in her heart wasn't so easily alleviated.
"Brother, your wife is unfair. She's embarrassing me, Black Loach, in front of so many people. If we don't settle this, it won't be good for us in the future." Black Loach said with a righteous tone. The other men echoed his words, their eyes glaring openly at Mo Qian Ni.
Yang Chen calmed Mo Qian Ni down and motioned for her to sit down. He was considering whether to knock these men down or throw them off the train to make them walk back to the mountains. However, the situation suddenly took a turn.
A long bamboo pole with a shoulder pole attached suddenly swung from a diagonal angle behind and fiercely struck one of the men standing in the group on the head!